Raising and lowering device for demountable wheels and rims



50ct. w 1926.

L. E. FGN

RAISING AND LOWERING DEVICE FOR DEMOUNTABLE WHEELS AND RIMS Filed Jan. l5, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet l ct. 19 i926.

L. E. PAGAN RAISING AND LOWERING DEVICE FOR DEMOUNTABLE WHEELS AND RIMS l F'lec Jan. 15, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 d. lg 9 11926. H,603,527

L. E. PAGAN RAISING AND LOWERING DEVICE FOR DEMOUNTABLE WHEELS AND RIMS Filed Jan. l5, 192 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented (ist. i9, i926@ t rarest ortica.

LEER/'XS E. FAGAN, 0F CHCAGO, ILLNG, ASSlGNOR 'IO ElVIL BLUIVIENTI-AL, OF EVANSn lL'ON, LLINOIS; L. E. FAG-AN. 0F CHTLC- G-G, LLNOS; A ND E. Gr. TROWBRIDGE, 0F VJNNETKA, ILLN'GIS, TRUSTEES FOR B. l. T. COlVlIEANY, OF C-ICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAISING AND LGVERNG 'DEVICE FOR DEVIOUNTABLE WHEELS .AND RIVIS.

Application filed January 15, 1926, Serial No. 81,455.

This invention relates to wheel raising and lowering devices tor motor vehicles, and its primary object is to provide aI wheel handling device, capable ot use on a wheeled vehicle equipped with a rear bumper. Usually the rear bumpers oit automobiles or other motor vehicles are placed so as to protect the sparc tire and wheel or rim as well as the gasoline tank, body and tenders of the vehicle. @tten the spare wheel is carried between the body et the car and the bumper, which makes .it diilicult to litt and place the wheel on the carrier and to remove it thereiirom and lower it to the ground.` r)This is especially noticeable when heavy wheels and tires are used on the car. The present invention has been designed to overcome these objectionable features, und render the task less irlrsome and laborious. rlhe principal diiiiculty met with in devising a lifting and lowering device tor wheels for an automobile equipped with a rear bumper, is that of enabling the device to lii't the wheel over the bumper, both during the operation oi" lowering the wheel from its carrier to the ground, or when lifting al wheel from the ground and placing it on the carrier. l have overcome this difficulty by providing a two piece, jointed wheel lifting lever, ulcrumed on a stationary support, and having a wheel carrying member or seat so positioned on the lever that the lever may lift the wheel free and clear ot the bumper, the joint in the lever ailier-ding means whereby one arm ot the lever may be swung relative to the other, to thereby move the wheel from a position above the bumper to one behind and partly below it.

rlhe invention consists in a wheel raising and lowering device comprising a two piece jointed lever tulcrumed at one end to a support, and having a wheel carrying member or seat thereon, movable in an are ot a circle described about said tulcrum, from a position on the ground to one in which the wheel is raised above the bumper, or lowered trom such raised position to the ground, said wheel carrying member or seat being movable in a separate arc'ot a circle, 'described about the joint or ulcrum, between the two arms ot the jointed lever, whereby the wheel may be lowered from such raised position to one below and behind the bumper, or raised irom a position below and behind the bumper to the raised position thereabove, whereby the wheel may be raised bodily from the ground and lifted over the bumper and deposited in carried position, by simply swinging the entire lever on its tulcrum, and thereafter swinging one arm on its ulcrum on the main arm, and returned to the ground by reversingI the direction of movement of said arm and whole lever. The invention further consists in a raising and lowering device oi the character' above setl `forth, in which means are provided for temporarily securing the main arm ot the lever against movement on its fulcrum, while the other arm is being manipulated. lt further consists in the provision ot combined auxiliary lever actuating and holding means, `operated by one of the jointed members of the lever. It further consists in the several novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

The invention is clearly illustrated in drawings accompanying this specification, in which Fig. l is a view, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical cross section, of a wheel raising and lowering device, illustrating a simple embodiment ot the invention, and showing the same applied to an automobile equipped with a rear bumper, the view illustrating the device in solid lines, with the wheel in raised or carrying position, and in 'dotted lines with the wheel resting on the ground; Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the parts in the position assumed when the wheel has been raised to its highest position over the bumper; Fig. 3 is a detail, vertical, cross section taken on the line 3-3 ot Fig. 4t; Fig. L is a front elevation ot the device with the wheel omitted from the view and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a wheel carrying member or seat which engages and takes hold of the wheel during the raising and lowering operations.

Referring to said drawings, which illustrate a simple embodiment of the present invention, the reference character 10 designates a 'fragment of the body of an automobile or other motor vehicle and 11 the rear bumper thereof. Rear bumpers usually contain a horizontal cross bar which is spaced away from the automobile body so as to leave room tor the spare wheels and tires intended for use in case Ot an emergency, suoli as a puncture or injury to a wheel.

Supported by the body or frame work ot the vehicle, as 'tor instance by arms 10, is a carrier plate 12, usually provided with studs 13 adapted to enter bolt holes in the hub flange 14 ot the wheel 15 which is to be carried by the carri-er plate. The stud marker 13a may be tormed with a slot for the reception ot' the bow ot a padlock (not shown), whereby the wheel may be locked to the carrier plate against removal by an unauthorized person.

Fulcrumed upon the carrier plate 12 as at Q0. is a two piece lever 16, one arm 17 of which comprises the main arm ot the lever, and one arm 1S comprises an arm extension thereot, the two arms being' pivot ally or hingedly connected or jointed together by a hinge pin 19. The lever 16 is capable of a swinging` or oscillatory movement, as a rigid whole, about the tulcrum pin 20, and the arm extension 1S is capable ot a swinging or oscillatory movement, independent ot the arm 17, on the hinge pin o tulcrum pin 19|. The purpose oi? the jointed lever 167 having a fixed tulcrum and a movable tulcrum, is to enable the wheel 15 to be raised from position resting on the ground (see Fig. 1) to one located slightly above the bumper 11 (see Fig. 2), and lowered from such raised position to the ground, and also lowered from such raised position to a carrying position behind and somewhat below the bumper (see F 1), and to be lifted from such carrying position to the raised position above the bumper, thereby enabling` the user to raise the wheel over the bumper to the carrier plate, and to take it from the carrier plate, bring,l it over the bumper, and lower it to the ground, without any great effort.

Describing more specifically the construction ot parts shown .for accomplishinp,` this result, the carrier plate 12 is termed with two lugs 21 on its rear tace, between which lugs the lever 16 is held by the fulcrum pin 20. In situations where the lever 16 is fulcrumed on the back of the carrier plate, the latter is formed near its upper edge portion 12a, with a slot. 22, through which the lever projects trom front to bach, and the lever is formed with a bowed or bent portion 17a, which bent part may be roughly U shaped in form, to enable the leverI to pass through the slot 22, when being swung),a down to the position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. l. This arrangement also permits the slots 22 to be made as narrow (vertically) as possible7 to prevent wea ening et the carrier plate. The carrier plate is reinforced by strengthening ribs, as shown, to atlord a solid and substantial wheel carrying' member. ln the form shown, the upper or lree end 17" oi the lever arm 17 is bent back and up, terminatinpy at a point slightly below the top ot the wheel rim 152' and directly behind the web or body 15b o1 the wheel 15 (see 1), when in carryingl position of the device. lilhen in this position, the lever arm 17 temporarily locked orflatched against movement on its l'ulcrum Q0, as 'will appear later7 and the wheel is at such times supported by the studs 13 and secured thereon by the nuts 13x that accon'ipany them as usual.

In this normal or inactive position ot the lever 16, the arm extension 18 thereot ef;- tends downwards trom its tulerum 19, on the arm 17, and its iiree end. 1S" projects iterwards through the hub aperture ot the hub portion let ot the wheel, where it is formed with a handle socket 16X in which a handle 23 may be secured wheneveiI the device is to be used in raising or loweringv a wheel. Conveniently the sochtt is non-circular and the handle is termed with a non-circular end hitting therein, so that when the handle is attached to the lever arm 18 the two act as a rigid, unitary structure. The handle 23 may be stored in the tool box or other storage place with which automobiles are usually provided. As apret'erence, the arm extension 18 forked. the two legs 1S" ot the iork straddline' the upper end 17" ot the lever arm 17 (see Fig. Ll) and joining' with each other at the s eleted end. rlhe ends of the iorlfs 18b which r ceive the tulcrum pin 19 are formed with shoulders or lugis 19C which act as stops that limit the moveirent of the arm extension 1S ir; one direction. said shoulders or lugs beine' arranged to strike the lever arm 17 when the arm Yex tension is swung' into the position seen in Fig. 2. rlfhis arrangement provides an el how joint between the two arms 17, 1S. which affords a limited amount oit anjggular movement between the two arms, and determines a place where the two arr-is become. to all intents and purposes, a single, rigid, unitary lever structure, movable as a whole about the tulcrum 20.

The stud 13a, above referred to, is secured tothe arm extension 18 at a place thereon coinciding with the iuapermost bolt hole in the hub Hanse 111, and projects through said bolt hole when the lever is in inactive or normal position (see Figs. 1 and 3). Located below the stud 13, and between the legs 18b ot the arm extension 16 is a wheel carrvine` member 2li, which is somewhat in the form oi' a hook (see Fig. 5) that engages with and takes hold ot the hub flange 1st ot the wheel and acts as a seat upon which the wheel rests during the raisingr and lowering,i

CII

movements of the lever. The wheel carrying member 24 is pivotally mounted on the lever 1G by a pivot pin 25, which is secured in the two legs 18b of the arm extension 18 and extends through a bearing aperture in the wheel carrying member 9A. An anti-rattler washer may be placed around the pivot pin and between one leg 18" and wheel carrying member Q11, to lfi'ictioiially hold said member in place. rlhe seat portion 26 is locatedv however, the arm extension 18 is swung upward to disengage the wheel from the eari'ier. the seat 2G comes into engagement with the hub llange and takes up the load and dra-ws the wheel away from the studs 13. ln order that the wheel may be litted over the bumper, the seat of the wheel carrying meinber is spaced a considerable distance away from the pin 19 and below it when the parts are in normal position.

To prevent the lever 1G, as a whole, 'from tilting forward on its ulcrun'i Q0, especially when the arm extension is being swung upward 'troni the position seen in -full lines in Fig. 1, and to aid in thrusting the wheel 'forward when the arm extension is swung` upward, (especially when the wheel is carried at an angle to the vertical, as it is in some eases) a latch hook or lever locking member 27 is employed, which, in the itorm shown, is pivotally mounted as at 29, betw en its ends, on the part 171 ot the leverl arm 17, and it has a 'forked end 28 which engages over a flanged part oit the upper end portion 12 o't the carrier plate, the flange entering the gap between the two 'forks of the latch hook. The other end ot the latch hook 27 isy connected to the arm extension 18, at a point adjacent the lfulcrum 19, by a link 80. The pivote/d connections between the latch hook, link, and arms 17, 18 may comprise rivets, bolts or the like as desired, and the arrangement of the parts just described is such that any tendency vtor the hitched lever 16, as a whole, to swing 'lorward on the 'tulcrum 2O is resisted by the latch hoek` since its forked end engages with the stationary carrier plate, and to-rward movement oit the lever as a whole would tend to rock the latch hook on the carrier plate as a 'tulcruiin thereby tending to lengthen the distance between the pivot points of the latch hook 27 and arm 17 and the link 8O and arm 18, which cannot be don'e.

In the operation of the device, to lower a wheel Ytrom the carrier to the ground, the nuts 123X and padlock are removed, and the handle Q3 inserted in the handle socket ol the lever (see solid line position oit parts in Fig. 1. The handle is then raised to the position seen in Fig. 2, the arm extension 18 turning upon the lulcruin pin 15) and. lifting the wheel high enough to-pass over the top ot' the bumper 11. During this upward movement ot' the arm extension 18, the pivot pin o'l'I the link connection 80 therewith is moved iii an are of a circle about the tulerum 19 and moves the link 8O to the lett, as viewed in 1 and 2, thereby swinging theV latch hook 27 on its pivot pin 29 in the direction of the arrows thereon, Fig. 1, bringing the vlront fork ol the hook into engagement with th-e carrier plate and moving the lever arin 17 forward on its liulcruin 9.0, the rear fork ot the latch hook at this time swinging up sulliciently to clear the carrier plate as the parts are thereafter swung lorward and down as a whole. At this point, the lugs 18c oit the aim extension 18 engage with the lever arm 17 and make the two arms rigid, and the handle 28 is thereupon swung 'forward and downward, and the lever 1G as a single unit is thereupon swung on its fulcrum Q0 until the wheel is deposited upon the ground, as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 1, all of the parts being entirely tree and clear ot thebuinper. The handle 23 is now detached from the arm extension 18 and the lever permitted to swing down until it comes to rest, and the wheel is then nio-ved out of the wheel carrying member 9A and taken away for the desired purpose. During the movement ot the arm extension upon its fulci'um 19, and during the movement oil the entire lever upon the ulci'uin 20, the wheel rests on the lwheel carrying member 2st, which, being swiveled on the lever, and the center of gravity of the wheel being below the swing, remains approximately upright and holds the wheel appronimat-eli,T upright until it rests on the Iground. To replace the wheel, the hub `llange of the wheel is placed on the seat o't the wheel carrying member, the handle inserted into the socket, the lever swungupward to its upper limit. and the arm extension then swung down` the nuts 18X and padlock repla eedv and the li'andle withdrawn.

From the above, it will be seen that the two arms 17, 18, when rigid, serve as a lever f fulcrume'l at one end and having a wheel carrying ineii'iber between its endsl on which the wh el raised to a position above the bumper and lowered to the ground. Fun therinore. the arm extension 18, by itself, acts as a lever, tulciuined on the end ot the lever arm 17 which then acts as a strut or support tor the tulcrum ot the arm eXtension, and in this condition the wheel carrying member, being mounted on said arm eX- form of a separate lever capable ot' indetension carries the wheel from said raised a 7 I position to the carrier plate.

lt is also apparent that the wheel may be i easily and quickly raised from the ground, lifted over the bumper and deposited on the carrier plate with little etlort, and likewisc may be lowered to the ground. 'lhen the device is used on an automobile on which the spare wheel is supported at a considerable angle to the vertical, the tulcrum of the latch member may be raised to increase the length ot its torlred arm, and 'the space between lthc toi-lis is narrowed, and other slight changes are made in the shape ot the parts. The latch member thereby causes the jointed wheel carrying lever to move farther away trom the carrier plate during the time that the arm extension is being swung up, thereby bringing the wheel into an approXimately vert-ical position, before the wheel carrying lever is swung down, as a whole, to lower the wheel to the ground. When returning the wheel to the carrier plate, the latch member engages the carrier plate while the wheel is still being supported in an approximately vertical position by the lever and breaks the tall ot the wheel, to the carrier plate, as the arm extension ,is being swung` down to lower the wheel to the carrier plate.

rlhe parts are i'few and simple. They are strong, substantial and not easily broken. The parts may be altered slightly, it necessary, to accommodate the device to the various types of automobiles without making any radical departures.

More or less variation ot the exact details oi" construction is possible without departing troni the spirit ot this invention; l desire, therefore, not to limit myself to the exact torni o't the construction shown and described, but intend, in the following claims, to point out all of the invention disclosed herein.

l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. A wheel raising and lowering device, connn'ising a support, a hinged together, two part main lever, tulcrumed at one end on. said support, and both parts of said lever cooperating to act as a rigid unit, and one part ot said main leverV comprising a separate lever capable ot' oscillation with respect to the other part of the lever, and having an associated wheel carrying seat locatet at a considerable distance away 'trom the hinge connection between the two parts of the main lever.

2. A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising a support, a hinged together, two part lever, fulcrumed at one end on raid support, both parts of said lever cooperating to act as a rigid unit, movable on said ulcrum, and one part being in the pendent oscillatory movement on the other part, said separate lever having a wheel carrying member swiveled thereon between its ends.

3. A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising a support, a lever structure lulcrumed thereon and comprising two hinged together arms, having means 'for holding the arms :in lixed relation, whereby they cooperate to move as a rigid member, and one arm being in the form ot a separate lever capable ot oscillation upon the other through a limited extent, and a wheel carrying member upon Vsaid independently oscillating lever having a wheel sustaining seat, supportingly engaging the wheel at a point considerably below the hinge connection between the two arms ot the lever and movable upward from such position.

A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising a support, a lever structure iiulcrumed on said support and comprising two arms having an elbow -ioint connection be tween them, whereby they may move together as a lixed structure, and one being in the torni of a separate lever capable ot meven'ient on the other through a limited extent, and a wheel carrying member on said independently movable lever having a wheel sustaining seat, supi'iortingly engaging the wheel at a point considerably below the hinge connection between the two arms of the lever and movable upward Yfrom such position.

5. A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising a support, a lever structure 'fulcrumed on said support and comprising two arms having an elbow joint connection between them, whereby they may move together as a lixed structure and one being in the form oi a separate lever capable ol' movement on the other through a. limited extent, and a wheel carrying member, having two upstanding lugs and a seat therebetween for receiving the hub flange of a wheel, said wheel carrying member being swiveled to said independently movable lever with its seat supportingly engaging the hub flange ot the wheel at a point considerably below the hinge connection between the two arms of the lever and movable upward from such position.

G. A. wheel raising' and lowering device, con'iprising a carrier plate, having wheel supporting studs thereon, a lever structure ulcrumed on said carrier plate and comprising two hinged together arms, having means cooperating to hold said two arms in rigid condition, and one being in the iorm ot a separate lever capable ot oscillatory movements on the other through a limited extent, and a wheel carrying member on said independently movable lever having a wheel sustaining seat, supportingly engaging the wheel at a point considerably below the hinge connection between the two arms of the lever and movable upward from such position.

7. A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising a slotted carrier plate, a lever structure fulcrumed on said carrier plate at the rear thereof and projecting through said slot, said lever structure comprising two hinged together arms, having means cooperating to hold said two arms in rigid condition, and one being in the form of a separate lever capable of oscillatory movements on the other through a limited eX- tent, and a wheel carrying member on said independently movable lever having a wheel sustaining seat, supportingly engaging the wheel at a point considerably below the hinge connection between the two arms of the lever and movable upward from such position.

8. A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising a carrier plate, a lever structure fulcrumed on said carrier plate, and comprising two hinged together arms having means cooperating to hold said two arms in rigid condition, and one being in the forni of a separate lever capable of oscillatory inovcn'icnt on the other arm through a limited extent, and wheel carrying means associated with said independently movable lever having a wheel sustaining seat, supportingly engaging the wheel at a point considerably below the hinge connection bctween the two arms of the lever and movable upward from such position.

9. A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising a carrier plate, a two part lever fulcrumed thereon, and having an elbow Iioint connection between `the two parts of the lever, whereby the levei may function as a rigid, unitary, rocking structure, and one part thereof may function separately as a lever capable of rocking on its joint on the other part of the lever, and wheel carrying means associated with. the independently inovaljile part of the lever, whereby said wheel. carrying means is movable through an are of a circle having a long radius, and through another arc of a circle having a .relatively short radius.

l0. A wheel raising and. lowering device, comprising a support, a hinged together two part lever fulcrumed on said support, one part of said lever being in the form of a separate lever, independently movable on the other part of the two part lever, an`

auton'iatically operating latch device pivotally mounted on said other part of the lever, and arranged to lockingly engagle with said support, and an operative connection between said independently movable part of the lever and said latch device, said independently movable part of the lever, the connection and the latch device co-operating to lockingly secure said other part of the lever against movement relative to the support.

l1. A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising a support, a hinged together two part lever fulcrumed on said support, one part of said lever being independently movable on the other part of the lever, aV

comprising a support, a hinged together two part lever fulcrumed on said support, `one part of said lever being independently movable on the other part of the lever, a latch member fulci'umed on one of said parts of the lever and having a forked end lockingly engaging with said support, and a link connecting the other end of said latch member to the other arm of the lever, whereby when said last mentioned arm of the lever is moved in one direction said forked end of the latch member is lockingly engaged with said support, and when said last mentioned arm is moved in the opposite direction, the forked end of the latch member is unlocked from said support, and the latch member effects an initial movement of the lever structure on its fulcrum.

13. A wheel raising and lowering device,

comprising a carrier plate, a lever Structure fulcrumed on said carrier plate, and-comprising two hinged together arms having means cooperating to hold said twoarms in rigid condition, and one being capable of oscillatory movement on the other arm through a limited extent, wheel carrying means associated with said independently movable arm, a latch member fulcrumed on one of said arms, and arranged to lockingly engage said carrier plate, and a link connecting said latch member with the other arm of the lever and cooperating therewith to release said latch member from the carrier plate when the independently movable arm is moved in one direction relative to the other.

14. In a wheel raising and lowering device, the combination with a support and a wheel lifting and lowering lever fulcrumed thereon, of a combined latch and lever shifting member, arranged in one position of the lever to lockingly engage said support, and operative connections between said lever and combined latch and lever shifting member for actuating the latter.

l5. A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising a support, a hinged together, multiple part lever, fulcrumed at one end on said support, parts ot' said lever cooperating te `actas a rigid unit, and one part et said lever being in the term of a separate lever having wheel carrying means associated therewith, and normally located below the hinge connection of the part with which the carrying means is associated, said part of the lever being capable of oscillation with respect to the other part oli the lever.

16. A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising a support, a hinged together, multiple part lever, tulerumed at one end on said support, parts of said lever cooperating to act as a rigid unit, movable on said fulerum, and one part being in the form of a separate lever capable ot independent oseillatory movement on the other part, and having` a wheel carrying member swiveled thereon, Vmovable from a position below the hinge connection between the two hinged together parts of said lever to a position above said hinge connection.

17. A wheel raising and lowering device, comprising aA support, a lever structure tulerumed thereto and Comprising hinged together arms, having means for holding the arnis in fixed relation, whereby they cooperate to move as a rigid member, and one arm being in the form of a separate lever capable of oscillation upon another through a limited extent, and a wheel carrying mem ber upon said independently oscillating arm, movable from a position below the hinge connection between the two hinged together parts of said lever to a position above said hinge connection.

18. In a` wheel raising and lowering device, a support, a hinged together, jointed, wheel earryilng lever, tulcrumed' on said support, and movable toward and away from said support as a rigid structure, one member of the lever being capa-ble ot independent movement upon and toward and away from the other member ot the lever, and an auxiliary lever moving element cooperating with said independently movable member and support, to transmit movement from the independently movable member to the lever as a whole.

19. In a wheel raising and lowering device, a support, a hinged together, jointed, wheel carryin lever, fulcrumed on said support, and movable toward and away 'from said support as a rigid structure, one meinber ot the lever beine' ea )able ot inde Jend- .1

ent movement upon and toward and away trom the other member of the lever, an auxiliary lever moving element arranged to be interposed between said wheel carrying lever and support and cooperating with said independently movable member and support, te transmit movement from the independently movable member: to the lever as a whole.

20. ln a wheel raising and lowering device, a wheel support,'a hinged together, jointed, wheel carrying lever, fulerumed on said support, and movable toward and away from said support as a rigid structure, one member oli the lever being capable et' independent movement upon and toward and away from the other member el the lever, and an auxiliary lever moving element cooperating with said independently movable member and support to retard the movement ot the lever, as a whole, when the independently movable member of the lever is moved .in a direction to seat the wheel on said support.

LEWIS E. FAG/1N. 

